Ekow Yankah, is associate dean for faculty and research, Thomas M. Cooley Professor of Law and a professor of philosophy at the University of Michigan. His work focuses on questions of political and criminal theory and, particularly, questions of political obligation and justifications of punishment.
Yankah joins the Michigan Minds podcast to discuss the legal structures governing American elections, the constitutional roadblocks to federalizing the vote and the reality of modern election security. He also explores the historical context of political power and the importance of active citizenship in maintaining democratic institutions.
When we hear claims of widespread voter fraud in the news, what kind of high level evidence do courts actually require before they would even consider overturning an election result?
We should be really clear about this. There is no evidence of voter fraud. It gets exhausting. I understand that some of us who have worked in elections, election protection, sometimes get frustrated because it feels like you're fighting against imaginary dragons or something, even having to make these arguments.
Maybe in our history there have been some remarkable moments... but in modern history, there is no voter fraud. Even when those who are most skeptical take former high level politicians like Kobach in Kansas and are given extraordinary powers to investigate and find this voter fraud that they have convinced people exists, they can't find it.
Michigan Minds is produced by Greta Guest and hosted by Juan Ochoa. Jeremy Marble is the audio engineer and Hans Anderson provides social media animations. Listen to all episodes of the podcast.